


Jake Takes a Shot in the Dark

by Kufikiria



Series: It's Always Been You [20]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Get-Together Fic, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Romance, inspired by psych and 'shawn takes a shot in the dark'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27758731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kufikiria/pseuds/Kufikiria
Summary: Sometimes, in order to stay alive, you have to make tough calls. Both figuratively… and literally.(Or, this is a late season 2 get-together Canon divergence inspired by Psych’s ‘Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.’)
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Series: It's Always Been You [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/963678
Comments: 12
Kudos: 57





	Jake Takes a Shot in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Some dialogue is directly taken from the episode or at least very very close to it. Thank you @cheddartheflufflyboi for inspiring me to write this as she goes through the thrilling adventure of watching Psych for the very first time haha!

With every new minute that passes, Jake starts to feel like his chances of making it out alive are getting slimmer.

He knows that he shouldn’t give up; knows he should try and think about his next move and a plan to get out of here, remember what he’s supposed to have learned back at the Academy about those ‘what if I get kidnapped’ situations, but it’s hard to do so when he just witnessed his two bosses being sent on a wild goose chase.

Holt and Terry were there less than two minutes ago. They had been so close to finding him — he had heard their voices, had seen their tired yet determined faces as they talked to one of his two assailants. Although obviously, they had no idea the man was who they were so actively looking for. Jake tried to make his presence known, but it was hard to do so with a hand covering his mouth and a threatening gun on his temple.

Now Holt and Terry are gone to follow the fake lead the criminal gave them. Jake is alone again; the two partners left him there, attached to a chair while they’re talking — or rather one of them is yelling at the other — in the room next door. Jake winces as a numbing feeling is taking over his whole body, starting from his left shoulder and the fresh wound there, a painful reminder of what brought him here, to thinks dark, secluded gas station.

It all started the night before, when he followed a lead on a case he was working on with Charles.

The thought occurred to him late in the evening and he acted on an impulse, not waiting for backup as he went to check the place where he believed a crime was about to happen.

Maybe he should have at least gone with Charles instead of simply sending him a text asking him to meet him there — because one minute he was alone in a gloomy parking lot and the next he found himself face-to-face with one of the potential suspects he’d interrogated during the day. The man was carrying a gun and, despite Jake’s attempt at finding an excuse for his presence there, he shot him, the bullet passing right through his shoulder. Then he forced him inside the trunk of his car and drove away from the scene with Jake.

The rest is nothing but a big blur of memories from actions dictated by adrenaline. Jake managed to free himself from his bonds and set Charles a message before he kicked his way out of the trunk, a trick he’d learn in his teenage years when, for some reason, he and Gina decided to attend a survival camp together thinking it could be fun. He then proceeded to lose his assailant in the woods.

He stayed there for the rest of the night, exhausted and in pain from his still bleeding wound.

As soon as the sun rose up in the sky he continued his course, and thought he’d found his way out of this nightmare when he found a road and a gas station, where he believed he could finally call for backup. Unfortunately the odds weren’t in Jake’s favor at the time (and he’s starting to think they  _ still _ aren’t) since it turned out the owner of the place was no other than his kidnapper’s partner.

Which led him to here and now, all tied up in a room in the back with his wound poorly attended to by one of the two men.

Jake takes a deep breath as he shakes the memories away and refocuses on his current situation. He needs to assert what his different options are here.

He’s been pulling on his restraints ever since his kidnappers left him alone in the room, and he can now feel that they’re about to break. He glances at the other room; the men still seem caught in their argument, paying no attention to him. It leaves Jake some time to think as he looks around and takes in everything that’s there, from the different tools to some pictures hanging on a board on a wall. It’s part of his job — he’s been trained to pay attention to every little detail not to miss on any potential piece of evidence hidden inside a crime scene.

That’s when he sees (and hears) it: his phone, laying and buzzing so close yet so far away from him. If only he could reach it and let whoever’s calling him know of what’s going on…

With a newfound force and hope coursing through his veins, he pulls harder than ever on his ties and finally breaks free. Or, well, partially free — his legs are still tied to the chair he’s sitting on, and he’s got no time to untie himself from them. So he does the next best thing he can think about on such short notice: he lets himself fall down with the chair, biting his tongue not to cry in pain when his injured shoulder pangs against a creeper that’s conveniently been abandoned by his side. Like that, he manages his way towards his phone.

“Hello?” Jake’s heart is beating fast and loud with adrenaline when he picks it up without even looking at who’s calling first. He talks in a low voice as not to bring the criminals’ attention onto him. He doesn’t know how long he’s got before they’ll be back.

What he’s met with on the other end of the line is quick to make his hopes fade away a little. It’s a familiar voice — but it sounds muffled, somewhat distant, and definitely not talking to him. It doesn’t take Jake much thinking to understand what’s going on here, as this is a somehow regular occurrence in his everyday life: Scully butt dialled him.

It doesn’t stop Jake from trying to catch his attention.

“Scully? Scully are you there? _SCULLY_!” His voice goes up a notch in frustration despite his best intentions at keeping it low, but still his colleague doesn’t seem to hear him not even realize he’s making a call.

Jake sighs, so focused on the phone call and what he could do to make Scully listen to him that he doesn’t hear one of the criminals is heading his way until he’s standing right in front of him.

“What th—…” He looks pissed, and his words immediately make Jake drop his phone onto the floor. “What do you think you’re doing?!” he says in a menacing tone.

Jake knows he just found himself in a bad situation and yet he can’t help but feel relieved the ‘nice’ one of his two kidnappers found him like that — which is a little ironic, as he’s also the one who shot him and kidnapped him first. But still, from the time he’s spent with the two guys, Jake quickly got the impression that he could be the easiest to manipulate and connect with.

Something he could always use to his advantage.

“I swear this is not what it looks like!” he’s fast to answer, raising his hands in surrender while the other man grabs his phone from the floor. His heart is pounding in his chest as thoughts are running wild in his mind in search of a good excuse to give. That’s when he suddenly remembers — can see it clear as day in his head.

A picture of that same man who’s currently hovering over him with this dark look in his eyes, unless he’s smiling and seems happy there.

Because he’s not alone. Someone else is by his side; a woman, lovingly looking at him.

Jake closes his eyes, takes a deep breath. “Look.” He brings his attention back to his kidnapper, praying for this new tactic to work. It  _ has _ to. “Mark. Can I call you Mark?” He’s heard his colleague calling him that way. “I know my chances of getting out of here alive aren’t great. I made my peace with that.” He really has not. Jake Peralta is  _ not _ ready to die. “But I met someone recently.” Another lie — he’s as single as he could be. Yet his mind still wanders as he lets out the words, towards a certain time, a certain  _ person _ .

He thinks back to the night of Charles and Gina’s parents’ wedding just a couple of weeks ago and that moment he and Amy shared. How she tricked him into sharing a slow dance with Gina’s handsy Great Aunt Susan; how they never left each other’s gaze through the entirety of the song; how flirty things have been between them since and how he’s realized then that he definitely still likes her.

He’s been meaning to ask her out for a while now but hasn’t found the guts to do so yet. And maybe… maybe now he’ll never get that chance at all.

Jake shakes the thought away. Now’s not the time to imagine the worst.

“That girl I met… she’s special,” he goes on with his speech, and for the first time since he started talking, these words are the plain truth. Amy Santiago is an amazing woman, who’s the smartest and most beautiful person he’s ever got the chance to meet. He likes her oh so very much. “Just like I’m sure your girlfriend’s special, right?” He tries to stay focused on his task rather than let his thoughts wander towards his colleague and how he feels about her.

“My girlfriend?” The other man seems confused.

Jake points towards the wall and its board full of pictures. “She looks very pretty.”  _ Not as pretty as Amy _ , he can’t help musing.

The criminal follows his gaze before bringing his attention back onto Jake. Jake swears he could see the hint of a smile on the man’s face when he says, “The prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

The words bring some hope to his heart. Maybe his plan will work after all — maybe he  _ will _ manage to get his kidnapper to relate with him and feel for him.

Holding his breath, Jake finally gets to his point. “I just want to call her and say goodbye. That’s all. You can watch me — and shoot me if I do or say something you don’t like.” He raises an eyebrow as he looks at his assailant, trying to look calm and sincere despite his pounding heart. He really hopes he’ll be subtle enough with his conversation that it won’t come down to this.

He’d really like to make it out of this  _ alive _ .

The other man doesn’t reply right away. He stays silent for a while, probably thinking about Jake’s proposal. Until, after what seems like forever but most likely was just a few seconds, he talks again.

“Count on it. I _will_ shoot you.”

Jake can’t retain the sigh of relief that escapes his mouth at hearing those words. His hands are slightly shaking when he thanks Mark and grabs the phone that he gives him, and he doesn’t waste any second to go through his contact list where he immediately finds Amy’s number at the top. He could call anyone from the squad — and maybe sending a message directly to Holt would be a smarter move to make rather than having her as their middle woman — but it’s  _ her _ voice he really wants to hear.

_ Just in case… _

Plus, if the other guy were to decide to steal the phone away from him and talk to whoever’s on the other end of the line to make sure he’s telling the truth, at least it’s a woman’s voice he’ll hear, which might save his cover.

It only takes a few rings before someone picks up. “Jake?! Are you okay?” Amy’s voice rises in his ear and just like that, Jake suddenly feels a little more at ease. Despite himself and the bad situation he’s stuck in, a small smile forms on his face and his heart warms up in his chest, if only for a fleet instant.

He can’t let his emotions take over though, not now. He has to remember his cover. “I just wanted to say goodbye,” he tells her in a low, serious tone.

Of course Amy is quick to counteract. “Wh—… what do you mean? Jake, we’re not giving up on you. We’re gonna find you and bring you home.” His heart clenches at the mention of  _ home _ , although he can’t dwell on that either. “Can you say where you are?” she asks. He doesn’t have to see her to tell how anxious she is despite her attempt at keeping as even a voice as possible.

He knows her better than that. And he can’t help but feel guilty to be the one putting in her such a state.

Jake shoots a quick glance at his kidnapper, who’s carefully listening in on what he has to say. He sighs as he answers, “I’m sorry darling, I can’t say anything. I just wanted to hear your voice one last time.”

“Jake… sto—…”

He takes another deep breath and cuts her off before she says anything else. As much as he’d like to speak with her all day, he can’t. Time is of the essence here.

“Just listen to me. We won’t be able to have much of a future anymore, but back at where we were, I’ll be there, okay?” He tries so hard to think about what to say — how to be cryptic enough that the man next to him can’t tell he’s secretly passing a message but not too cryptic for Amy to catch up on it and for Holt to hopefully understand what he means.

_ Come back to that gas station, it’s where you’ll find me. _

“Back… back… I’ll be there…” He can hear her mutter under her breath as well as the sound of her scribbling rapidly on a page. “I don’t understand. Is that supposed to be a riddle?” Her breathings are increasing in what sounds like slight panic now, and it hurts him — somehow more than the pain he gets from his bullet wound.

But once again, Jake has to get past that.

He closes his eyes to refocus, the images of what was outside the gas station when he first came in invading his mind. He picks up on one object in particular as he goes on with his message. “Remember the windchimes I got you for your birthday? Think of me every time you hear them.” He prays Holt or Terry saw them too when they were there.

“Windchimes has to be a clue, right?” It still sounds like she’s writing when Amy talks again, fast. A beat passes, then she’s talking again. “Listen, Jake, everything’s going to be fine. All of the Nine-Nine is on your case. We won’t stop until we find you.”

A small smile forms on Jake’s lips — he knows it’s true.

That’s when the criminal decides he’s had enough of this conversation. “Okay that’s it.” His voice is enough to stop Jake from smiling. He looks fidgety, on edge. “Tell her you love her and then hang up.”

_ Jake’s heart suddenly stops for a full second at the mention of  _ _ love _ _. This was not part of his plan. He can’t say that. Not to her — and definitely not like  _ _ that _ _. _

Last time he told someone he cared about that he loved her, she broke his heart and ran away. He can’t risk anything similar happening with Amy.

And yet, from the look on the other man’s face while he stares at him expectantly, waiting for him to say his final goodbye, it seems like he won’t have a choice if he wants a chance at living to see another day. Jake closes his eyes, pictures Amy’s gaze on him during his dance with Susan — half-full of mischief and half-full of something way softer, a fondness he’d never seen there before.

He remembers what it felt like, to have Amy looking at him like _that_. He thinks about how she’s his best friend — a best friend he wishes he could build a future with if she wants it too. And if he’s given the chance to have one, that is.

So, despite his better instincts, despite the walls standing high around his heart, he tells her. “Before I go, there’s one thing I have to say to you. _I love you…_ ”

He’s first met with a gasp, barely audible through the phone. A second passes in complete silence, and Jake holds his breath. He wants to say something — wants to crack a joke or tell her the whole truth about how someone’s listening in on the conversation and made him say the words and she really shouldn’t read too much into that. This is too much for him.

But then she finally talks again. “Jake, I—… I think that I—…”

_Is she about to say it back?! Or is she trying to find a nice way to reject him?_ Too scared to find out and the consequences it could have, Jake cuts her off again before she can finish her sentence.

“Goodbye… Valerie,” he makes up a fake name to tip her in on the fact that this was part of the ruse then quickly hangs up, heart shattering in his chest.

He can’t help but think that he blew it. _Hard._ But Jake doesn’t have the time to dwell on that because as soon as the phone call ends, the second bad guy enters the room, seeming extremely pissed.

“ _What the hell’s going on here?!”_

* * *

For a full second, when the second of his kidnappers caught sight of what was happening behind his back and angrily took out his gun saying he had enough, time stopped and Jake thought that was it. His final moments. But somehow, when the bullet went out, it didn’t lodge into his chest, no. It went right through the other criminal’s heart, who fell lifeless onto the hard cold floor.

Everything happened so fast after that. Leaving the corpse behind, the guy took Jake with him as he made his escape. He didn’t get to go too far, though — just like Jake’d hoped, Holt understood his hidden message and was quick to come after them, along with the rest of the squad… including  _ Amy _ .

She didn’t mention the phone call when they finally reunited, nor did she let any emotion other than relief to know he’s safe and sound transpire throughout the time they spent together. She rather focused on arresting the criminal who’d taken him and killed his partner. Jake couldn’t tell what she might be thinking or feeling.

What he could tell, however, was that the atmosphere between them was off. He wanted to say something to clear the air but didn’t know where to start.

Nor did he really get the chance to anyway, since Holt forced him to go to the hospital to get his wound checked by a professional while Amy headed back to the precinct to finish up with the case.

But now the day is over and Jake is back home, all alone with his thoughts — most of which include Amy. He can’t seem able to let go of what he told her, what she might or might not have been about to answer him before he cut her off. About how he’s been meaning to ask her out for a while now, and how he could have never gotten the chance to do so if today had taken a whole other turn.

He needs to stop waiting and talk to her.  _ Now. _

He glances down at his phone, contemplating calling her, only to change his mind and stand up from his bed where he’s been sitting for the past half-hour or so.

He’s done with phone calls — if he’s going to do this, he owes it to Amy to do it face-to-face. That’s why he grabs his keys and gets out of the apartment, taking a taxi to her own place. He knows she left the precinct from Charles, who spent the evening with him until Jake told him he needed some rest.

The taxi ride from his to Amy’s isn’t a long one, but it’s long enough for Jake to replay their conversation over and over in his head and think about asking the driver to turn around and bring him home at least several times. He hesitates again once in front of Amy’s door only to finally muster the courage to knock. It doesn’t take long for her to appear.

“Jake?!” She seems a little confused to see him here, her face scrunching in a frown.

He notices how she changed from her work clothes to something more comfortable and hopes he’s not intruding too much.

“Hi.” His smile is a little shier than usual when he greets her in return but still full of sincerity. A few seconds pass in awkward silence after that, with Amy waiting for him to talk more, probably expecting him to tell her what he’s doing here, while Jake remains frozen in place. Until he remembers he didn’t come empty-handed. “I brought some wine.” He gives her the bottle to emphasize his words before he apologizes, “Probably not a very good one though.” He found the bottle at the back of one of his closet and has no idea how long it’s been there nor where exactly it comes from.

It makes Amy laugh as she opens the door wider as an invitation to let him inside, and it’s all it takes for Jake to feel a little better.

“Aren’t you on some medication for your wound?” she first answers jokingly, pointing towards his shoulder that’s now wrapped in a splint. Her expression slowly changes as she stares at it for a little too long, though. Her eyes darken, just like her thoughts seem to be taking a dark turn as well.

It’s gone before Jake can say anything, replaced by her usual smile, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t catch it.

“I survived a kidnapping. I think I can survive some bad wine.” He jokes back, as it is his coping mechanism. It doesn’t work too well on Amy though — she pretends to laugh, but Jake can tell she’s forcing it compared to earlier. He’s made her laugh enough times to know what her genuine laugh sounds like (and to know that it sounds like music to his ears).

_ Too soon _ , Jake reprimands himself.

Thankfully all of it is quickly forgotten and the two of them sit on the couch with their glasses of wine, falling into lighter conversation.

There’s still something hanging between them, some weight that can’t seem to disappear and wasn’t there the day before. Jake knows where it comes from and that the only ways for it to go away is to talk about it — which is, to be fair, the reason why he came here in the first place. This is why during a time of silence between them he eventually takes the floor.

“I didn’t get the chance to say thank you, by the way.”

“What for?” Amy frowns.

“Saving my life.” Jake looks at her with his eyes piercing right through her. There, he can see how a blush starts creeping from the tip of her ears towards her cheeks.

“It was a team effort. You know the Nine-Nine has your back.”

“I do. But you’re the one who answered my phone call and passed the message to Holt so that you could find me.” _There it is._ The elephant in the room. Before Amy can say anything, before he loses his momentum and chickens out from the important stuff again, he adds, “Speaking of, I need to ask you something…”

Jake sees how her body suddenly tenses in reaction to his words and how her hands busy themselves with her glass as she struggles to maintain eye-contact with him. He’s anxious too — his heart beats fast in his chest. He takes a sip of wine (which turned out to be much better than expected) to calm his nerves before talking again.

“Windchimes. Is it a yes or a no for a birthday present?” he asks as he shoots her a knowing smile. The serious conversation is coming for sure but before that, he _has_ to crack a joke. That’s just how Jake operates. It also seems good for Amy’s sake, because she suddenly relaxes as she lets out a chuckle.

“Hm… I would say it’s not very useful for someone who lives in an apartment,” she plays along. It warms Jake’s heart — for the first time tonight and since that phone call, things feel like they’re back to normal between them.

Still, he can’t avoid the inevitable any longer. “But also… about what I said back then…” he trails off, then.

But Amy cuts him off before he can talk any further. “It’s okay. You had to do what you had to do to give us a message, right? And it worked.”

“Yeah, but…” Jake really needs to take it off his chest. “It wasn’t _all_ pretend. I could have called Holt directly. Or even Rosa, in case that guy wanted to hear my supposed girlfriend’s voice. Still I picked _you_.”

His heart his pounding so loud and fast, Jake hopes Amy can’t tell. She only frowns in return, seemingly confused. “What do you mean?”

“I might have been forced to… say _some things_ , but I—… I really wanted to hear your voice. That was my choice. I just… I don’t know. I needed you to know that.” His hand instinctively comes scratching behind his ear in a nervous tic. _Why is it so hard to tell her how he feels?!_

Her expression softens all of a sudden while she stares at him, speechless, for a few seconds. Jake doesn’t know what to do during that time, fidgeting in his seat as he waits for a reaction.

Whatever that could be.

The news eventually seems to sink in when a smile starts growing on her features — Jake takes it as a positive sign. She then gets closer to him, absentmindedly replacing the strap of his splint and Jake can feel his heart beating faster and faster in his chest from the simple touch and proximity. When she looks up to face him, a new glint is shining inside her irises.

“I appreciate that.” She simply answers, so close to him that he can feel her warm breath on him. Then, after a silent beat, she says in a softer voice, “For the record, what I was going to say before you hung up on me… was that I like you too. Just so you know.” Her smile has now turned into a playful, knowing grin and it’s all it takes for Jake to break the remaining few inches between them and kiss her — the gesture making up for all the words he can’t voice (yet). Amy is quick to answer, combing her hands through his hair while his own settle on her waist to keep her close.

When they eventually part, they’re both beaming with happiness, forehead resting against one another as none of them wants to fully pull away just yet. A few seconds pass surrounded in quiet, the only audible sound one of their breathings slowly falling back to normal, until Amy’s cheery voice rises through the air.

“I have to know, though. Who’s _Valerie_?!”

It makes Jake laugh, although also feel a little embarrassed about his poor attempt at deflecting and how rude it must have felt for Amy to hear that. To make up for it, he brings her back into a kiss to let her know how irrelevant Valerie is — truth to be told, he doesn’t even know any woman with that name; it just came to him in the spur of the moment when he was under a lot of pressure.

_Amy_ is the only one that matters. She’s always been.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t written anything in a while so hopefully this wasn’t too bad… don’t hesitate to tell me what you think, it’s always appreciated :) You can also find me on Tumblr @b99peraltiago if you want!


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